


Medicine

by KittycatthelilDevil



Series: Teach Me To Live [2]
Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Phantom of the Opera (1989)
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, I had to edit this because i realized father/daughter does not sound right, Little Christine, Medicine, Other, hahaha, i really wanted to write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittycatthelilDevil/pseuds/KittycatthelilDevil
Summary: Erik is trying to get Christine to take medicine but she is being rather fickle about it
Relationships: Christine Daaé & Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera
Series: Teach Me To Live [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733803
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Medicine

The sigh that brushed past Eriks thin lips was slow, as if his brain needed that time to figure out what to do next. He listened to the floorboards creak lowly under his bare feet as he paced back and forth along the hallway. Christine was tucked close to his chest, an odd fear of someone coming and snatching her away made him do so. His arms wrapped securely around her to assure she wouldn’t fall.

There was a terrible throb in his chest when her small cries hit his ears. It felt worse than anything ever had in his life, and that was saying a lot. Christine had been getting stomach pains for about an hour now, he couldn’t seem to soothe her back to sleep, she just cried. It hurt him terribly to see his angel in pain, he just wanted to curl around her and protect her from anything and everything. 

It was clear to him that she needed medicine, the words kept playing over and over in his head, but as he neared the kitchen in his pacing he’d turn and start back down the hall again. The last time he’d tried giving her medicine was anything but enjoyable, she’d screamed and cried, turning her head away when the spoon got anywhere near her lips. It had taken a long stressful half hour before she called defeat and begrudgingly took the medicine. 

Finally, he came to a stop, biting down hard on his lip. He knew he was really only giving her more pain if he just paced around the hall all night, at least if she got medicine she would feel better. Even if it was a hard task, it would be for the best. This time when he approached the kitchen door, he shifted her in one arm reaching over to push it open. 

Christine groaned, the pain in her stomach seemed to worsen as Erik shifted her into one arm, her eyelids fluttered tiredly. “Papa?...” She croaked out. All she was met with was his palm pressed to the back of her head, gently brushing his fingertips through her curls shushing her softly. Christine swallowed when she realized he had stepped into the kitchen, her head lifting off his chest to try and see if he was heading towards the medicine cabinet. 

A whine broke past her as Erik sat her down onto a kitchen stool, she inhaled sharply, her stomach swirled angrily. She looked up at Erik, her emerald orbs wide and pleading with him. It was her only defense against him now, she felt too drained to try and scream or cry about anything. Erik arched a brow, he knew that look. She was trying to pout her way out of this. He refused to be weakened by her look this time, he tore his eyes off of her to face a cabinet. 

He could feel her stare burning his back, it was easy to tell she hadn’t the strength to argue with him. If she did she would’ve started by now, Christine fidgeted anxiously with the end of her night gown, “P-papa…” She uttered quietly, hoping to catch his attention. Erik was looking across the many orange and white bottles stored in the cabinet, “Yes, Christine?” his tone barely hovered above a whisper.

“I think I’m feeling a bit better now…” She mumbled. Erik paused, so all of a sudden she was feeling better? Did this child really think her half planned lies could fool him? He had to stop himself before he had the chance to chuckle, “Is that so? Well, we should probably get you some medicine, just in case.” It was impossible to ignore the strong wave of panic that washed over her.

She swallowed, the feeling of dread took her over in seconds. Just the thought of last time was enough to make her shudder in disgust, the cheap taste of ‘strawberry’ made her throat run dry. She tried to open her mouth but words wouldn’t come, they scrambled around in her head, but her voice just wouldn’t cooperate! Not wanting to look stupid, she forced her mouth shut. She was at a loss of what to do. 

He inwardly cringed as the child shrunk away from him, she looked almost...scared of him. Even if he knew she wasn’t it still hurt, but he ignored it. She felt like some kind of an animal cornered in a cage, what could she do? The only thing she could do was prepare herself for the worst. Erik blinked, watching her curl up in the stool, closing her eyes as if he were about to attack her. 

And he thought he was dramatic.

“Come now, Christine this won’t take long.” He told her, pulling open a drawer to take out a spoon. Christine shook her head, “Nu-uh!” She huffed, crossing her arms, trying to put on an angry face, but to him it was more amusing than anything. Erik popped the cap off the bottle, “Christine, it would be much easier to just take the medicine and get it over with.”

Christine peeled one eye open, “How can you be so sure?...” She asked, voice quivering and small watching as Erik carefully started pouring the liquid into the spoon. She hated the way her stomach churned just at the sight, “Christine I’ve been alive much longer then you have, putting stuff off is not going to make it any better. It’s easier to just get it over with.” He explained to her, pushing the spoon in her direction. 

Christine blinked at the spoon, grimacing slightly as the red liquid jiggled before her. “Are you sure….?” She whispered, her green orbs rolling upwards to gaze at him. “The sooner you take the medicine, the sooner you can go to sleep.” Christine frowned, “I don’t wanna go to sleep…” She muttered. “Well then.” Erik smirked, “Somebody’s not getting any pancakes tomorrow.” He told her, knowing it would easily upset the child.

Christine glared up at him, “You wouldn’t.” She growled, almost as if she was challenging him. Erik chuckled, somehow making Christine feel smaller, weaker under his gaze. “Oh, I would.” He grinned. “No medicine. No pancakes” Christine gritted her teeth, she wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to yell at him, but she couldn’t. He knew her weakness, and if she didn’t cooperate she wouldn’t get what she wanted. 

With a defeated sigh, her lips parted and she closed her eyes, mouth now hanging open and she waited for her punishment. Her face scrunched uncomfortably as the fruity smell of the medicine hit her nostrils, alerting her it was close. Her mouth snapped shut again, she turned her head away from the spoon with a whine. Erik had not been expecting this- though part of him told himself that he should’ve- the spoon had been mere inches away from her mouth and when she turned her head her curls swiped across the spoon.

“Christine!” He gasped, pulling the spoon away. He groaned in frustration as he saw half the medicine was now in her hair and had dripped down onto her nightgown. “Look what you did!” He exclaimed. Christine’s bottom lip jutted out, focusing her gaze on him once more. “It wasn’t my fault.” 

“Christine this couldn’t be anyone elses fault except yours.” Erik grumbled, marching over angrily to another part of the kitchen to fetch a dish towel. “You put the spoon too close to my hair.” She told him, the way she said it to him made Erik tense, gripping the towel he’d found tightly in his fist. “No- I was trying to give you medicine and you turned away from the spoon and your hair is covered in it now.” he corrected her, trying to disguise the bitterness in his tone as he ran the towel under some warm water.

Christine exhaled shortly, she shook her head. A small kindle of hope fueled a hasty plan, a rather unnecessary plan if she really thought about it. It was obvious the fault was hers, if she were to deny it though Erik would most certainly argue in his defense, Erik could get rather fussy when someone blamed him for something he deemed he did not do. “You were the one trying to give me medicine!” She blurted, which she soon realized was a rather...stupid response, so she shot a hard glare his way, hoping it would somehow help fix her mistake.

Suddenly, Eriks fists crashed down onto the countertop with a furious force, control finally deciding to abandon him in a vacuum of fuming emotions. A frustrated growl crawled its way up his throat, his head whipped around to face Christine, who flinched at his sudden outburst, the playful atmosphere she had built in her mind had withered away in a matter of seconds. She often forgot what Erik was capable of when he got mad. 

She stared up at him, gripping the soft fabric of her nightgown, his amber orbs burst to life like an angry golden flame, “God forbid I try to give you medicine!” He spat, his voice laced with venom, he flung the towel to the ground furiously. “I’m trying to give you medicine so you feel better- is that so wrong?!” He hissed.

Christine never dared to even consider taking her eyes off of his, fear paralyzing every limb of her body like a drug, leaving her frozen. Erik pressed his hand to his forehead, muttering under his breath, words Christine could not understand. She assumed him to be speaking one of the many languages he had taken up over the years.

There was a moment of quiet before she saw Erik pull the same hand down his face, an almost breathless huff was forced into the dead air that had settled the room. He stared down at her, eyes empty and glass like. A look she hated, the words clawed desperately at her throat, trying to escape the imaginary prison she had built around them. She wasn’t sure if they were the right things to say, or how he might react if she spoke at all, maybe it was best to just remain silent. 

As the stillness carried on Erik assumed it only best to try and give her the medicine a second time. Any words he found to try and ease the tension in the room were quickly ushered out of mind, he picked the medicine bottle up to pour her another spoonful. It seemed both wanted to speak but either couldn’t find the words or didn’t want to, though the silence seemed to be a pest to both.

When the spoon had been filled Erik held it out to her. Christine watched the red liquid jiggle with a look of apprehension, he could still see the uncertainty lingering in her eyes. The pressure in her jaw unraveled and her mouth dropped open.

Erik appreciated her willingness, only wanting for her to feel better, though she could not read it anywhere on his face. She wouldn’t lie, it hurt a little but she shouldn’t have let her anxiety get the better of her. She tensed when he pushed the spoon into her mouth.

Christine came close to gagging when the sickening syrup hit her tastebuds, in fact, she was half tempted to spit it out, but she didn’t. Instead, she inhaled deeply, using every ounce of courage she had to force herself to sallow, she shuddered as the medicine slid down her throat. 

Erik pulled the spoon away, half surprised of how easy that was. He turned, dropping the spoon in the sink, Christine blinked up at him. Was it over already? He paused, he wasn’t sure if it would really do much but he said it anyways. “Thank you, Christine…” He mumbled. 

Christine's head dropped, staring down at her lap. He opened the medicine cabinet and placed the bottle back on the shelf. He turned his head to look at her as he closed the cabinet again, his eyes pooling with concern as he saw she was staring down at her hands. He sighed, moving closer to kneel down in front of her, “I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have yelled at you…”

Christine gripped her dress, she shook her head. “No...I’m sorry papa…” She whispered, Erik frowned, feeling his heart begin to melt. She was blaming herself for his own mistake, could he even really call it that? He was the one who yelled at her. 

“Oh...Christine. Don’t apologize.” He mumbled, reaching over to stroke her cheek. She whimpered at his touch, so gentle, she leaned her head into his hand. “I...I can’t...Can’t h-help it...”

Erik sighed, words seemed useless right now, so he did the only other thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around her small form pulling her close and lifting her up. She always liked being held, she would constantly nag at him to be held. “Love you, papa…” She whispered, clinging to his shirt. Erik blinked, eyes growing wide. His heart skipped a beat, he nodded quickly, holding her tight. ”I love you too...”


End file.
